The present invention relates to conferencing furniture and more specifically to conferencing tables for use with one or more display screens where multiple conference attendees can provide content for driving images presented via the display screen(s).
Small group (e.g., 4 to 8 attendees) conference tables have been designed that include one or more large display screens adjacent a table top edge or wall mounted or ceiling hung display or projection screens offset a distance from a table top edge. Here, the idea has been to provide information at or near a table edge for attendees to refer to during discussions and presentations. In many cases attendees use laptops or other digital information sources to drive the information presented via the display. To enable laptops to be powered and to access network data, power and data receptacles are often provided within conference tables (e.g., below grommet doors or covers that are flush with the top surface of a table top). A laptop user typically uses her own power and data cables to link to the receptacles. In addition, conference rooms are often equipped with audio and video cables to link a laptop to a display or to a projector for controlling presented information.
In many cases it is desirable to allow several attendees to control displayed information at different times during a conference. One way to allow several attendees to present information via a display is to sequentially have each presenter link to the display or projector via the audio and video cables. Here, transitions between presenters take time and are extremely disruptive.
One other way to allow several attendees to present is to provide separate audio and video cables for each presenter and a switcher device that enables each of the attendees to take control of the display screen via selection of a button associated with the presenters audio and video cables. One such switcher/cable/button assembly of this type is the DTS-TS8 switcher assembly by Elecom that provides eight separate audio/video cable assemblies and eight associated buttons along with a switcher that has eight input ports and one screen output port.
While a switcher and associated cables enable relatively quick transitions between presenters, these solutions typically require a large number of cables to be strewn across the top surface of a conference table. To this end, in addition to audio and video cables, power and data cables are often disposed on the top surface of the conference table and the garble of cables is unsightly and impedes use of the table top for other purposes (e.g., laying out of papers, etc.).
In addition, because the source selection buttons and associated audio and video cables are needed to interface with the switcher, these cables are typically kept with the switcher. For instance, where a switcher is to be used in a specific conference room, the audio/video/control cables (e.g., eight) are typically kept in the specific conference room and usually will be left linked to the switcher device for subsequent use. Thus, when audio/video/control cables are not being used (e.g., after a conference has been completed), the cables often remain strewn across a table top and the overall scene is unsightly.
Some conference table power and data/communication cable management solutions have been developed. To this end, cable systems have been developed that include spring loaded cable dispensers for dispensing network communication types cables (e.g., CAT-5 cables) for use at a conference table. Here, a dispenser housing is provided that mounts to the top surface of a table top or the like and a plurality (e.g., 8) of cable dispensers are mounted within the housing. One end of each cable can be pulled against the force or the spring out of each dispenser and plugged into a laptop. When a cable is not in use, the cable can be retracted via the spring force back into the dispenser and housing. While this solution works well for relatively thin communication type cables, this solution has several shortcomings. First, because the dispenser housing is located on top of the table top, the housing is always observable and reduces the elegance of an associated conference table and space. Second, where larger diameter cables such as audio and video cables are used, a simple spring loaded dispenser may need to be relatively large and the spring force would have to be relatively high to accomplish the retracting activity and therefore the overall size of the dispensing system would have to be increased appreciably. Thus, a spring loaded table top mounted dispensing system is not practical for many applications and, at best, solves the data cable management problem in a relatively unsightly manner.
In addition, conference tables are known that include power and data receptacles mounted below a table top member where the top member forms openings for passing cables for receptacle hookup and where cable receiving and retaining cavities have been formed adjacent the receptacles for receiving and storing excess power and data cable lengths. Thus, for instance, where a data cable is ten feet long but a laptop is positioned on a table top surface three feet from a data port/receptacle, the seven additional feet of cable can be tucked away in the cable receiving cavity under the top member.
After a conference has been completed, power and data cables often are removed from the conference space. To this end, currently most laptop computers come with their own power and data cables and therefore attendees plug in to receptacles using their own power and data cables which are removed after use. Thus, in most cases power and data cables do not pose an aesthetic problem when a conference is not being conducted within a conference space.
Thus, while solutions for managing power and data cables have been developed, similar solutions have not been developed for audio/video/control cables that form part of a switcher system and that typically remain within a conference space along with a switcher device after a conference has been completed.